International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 0.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price traded up 0.4% during trading on Friday after Bernstein Bank raised their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $210.00. Bernstein Bank currently has a market perform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $224.94 and last traded at $223.61. 770,061 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,207,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.72.

IBM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MRA Advisory Group increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 28.0% during the third quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 2,213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. now owns 4,423 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 16.1% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 11.4% in the third quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 3,090 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $205.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $202.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.65%.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate.